Floods kill six in Indonesia

Channel NewsAsia 9 Feb 08;

JAKARTA : Six people were killed, dozens injured and hundreds forced to flee their homes after floods in Indonesia following days of heavy rain, officials said Saturday.

Water as high as one metre (three feet) had submerged Situbondo district in Indonesia's densely populated East Java since Friday evening, but started to recede Saturday, the health ministry said.

"Two people were killed, one hospitalised and 27 others injured in Situbondo floods," Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry official, said in a text message received by AFP.

Separately, four people died and hundreds forced to evacuate their homes due to severe floods in eastern Indonesia, Sentianus Medi of the local disaster management centre said earlier in the day.

He said all four victims drowned after rivers overflowed following three days of heavy rain.

"Four people in three districts in East Nusa Tenggara province were killed yesterday (Friday)," he told reporters. "They all lived on riverbanks."

The official said more than 500 people had left their homes and 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of rice fields were under water.

Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which hits its peak from December to February.

Torrential rain across Central and East Java provinces at the start of the year triggered landslides and floods that killed more than 100 people and displaced tens of thousands.

- AFP /ls